FC Bulleen Lions

Bulleen Lions
Full name FC Bulleen Lions
Nickname(s) Lions
Ground David Barro Stadium
Ground Capacity 6000
Chairman Amalia Grassi
Manager Domenic Barba
League NPL Victoria 1
2015 1st

FC Bulleen Lions known as Lions, is an Australian semi-professional football (soccer) based in Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in the mid 1970s, the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 1.

History

FC Bulleen Lions was founded in 1974. The team wore maroon and gold kits. The Club initially competed in the VSF North Division. In 1977, Bulleen moved up to Provisional League Two. In 1983, after finishing second in Provisional League Two the year before, Bulleen were granted a licence to participate in the third division of the Metropolitan league. In 1985, Bulleen were promoted to the second division of the Metro league. In 1987 Bulleen won the Division 1 championship by one point against Ringwood City Wilhelmina. In 1987, the senior team was promoted to the State League, the then top division of football in Victoria.

In 1991, Bulleen were accepted into the reformed Victorian Premier League, which replaced the old State League. Bulleen finished the season equal first with Juventus, but lost out on top spot by virtue of a lower goal difference.

In 1993, Bulleen became known as the Bulleen Lions. That was a famous year for the club as the first major title was secured, first winning the Premiers Plate for their first-place finish and then grabbing the Championship by beating Fawkner in the Grand Final. Bulleen reached the Grand Final again in 1995, but lost out to Altona Magic SC 3–2 at Olympic Park.

In 1997, Brunswick Zebras merged with Bulleen Lions and Box Hill Inter to become the Bulleen Inter Kings. Bulleen Inter Kings later changed their name to the Bulleen Zebras.

In 2007, the club hosted no senior team. In 2008, Essendon Royals played out of the Veneto Club and formed the Bulleen Royals, playing in the First Division. From 2009 onwards, the seniors were once again known as the FC Bulleen Lions, reverting to their original colours of maroon and gold. The club finished mid-table in the Victorian State League 1 for five consecutive seasons from 2009–2013.

In 2014, Bulleen participated in the inaugural National Premier Leagues Victoria 1 campaign, finishing in fifth place in the 14 team competition. In 2015, the NPL1 competition was split into East and West conferences. The Lions achieved promotion back into the top flight of Victorian football after topping the NPL1 West competition, finishing the season on 57 points, six ahead of second placed Moreland Zebras FC.

In the off-season, Bulleen added former A-League goalkeeper Griffin McMaster, along with ex-Melbourne Knights FC trio Shayan Alinejad, Anthony Colosimo and Rodrigo Covarrubias as well as Ersin Kaya, who returned to Victoria following a stint with Bayrampasaspor.[1] Bulleen opened their season with a 1-0 loss to Bentleigh Greens, before managing a 1-0 win over Oakleigh Cannons FC and then two successive draws to Melbourne Victory FC Youth and South Melbourne FC, with the match against South Melbourne drawing over 2,000 people to the Veneto Club, the largest attendance at the ground for a Bulleen match in many years.[2]

Current squad

[3] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Griffin McMaster
2 Australia DF Eli Luttmer
3 Australia DF William Abbott
4 Australia Samuel Borghesi
5 Australia Lewis Waddell
6 Australia MF Bardhi Hysolli
7 Australia Billy Romas
8 Australia MF Matteo Ballan
9 Australia FW Sayeed Hussaini
10 Australia MF Takanori Nishimoto
11 Australia Gianni De Nittis
No. Position Player
12 Australia FW Rodrigo Luis Covarrubias
13 Australia DF Anthony Colosimo
17 Australia Sami Nour
18 Australia DF Felix Rosman
19 Australia FW Shayan Alinejad
20 Australia Andrew Mullett
21 Australia GK Thomas Banfield
22 Australia FW Dean Lorenzi
Australia DF Ersin Kaya
Australia Dylan Bresolin
Australia Davide Cardamone

References

  1. Kounelis, Jordan. "FC Bulleen Lions finalise squad with former Knights players". MFootball. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  2. Kounelis, Jordan. "South Melbourne prevent shock Bulleen win through late goals". MFootball. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  3. "NPL Deadline Day Squads". Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved 20 February 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.